Duo's Rose
by Colony L2
Summary: Duo has found his angel from the war of AC 195. She is perfect in every way. She is the exact girl Duo had wanted. But what happens when he loses her? 1 shot


Duo's Rose

Disclaimer: If I owned Gundam Wing would I be writing fics? Um...NO I don't think so. 

Life is a fickle thing for everyone. Some people get it easy, others, not so easy. Yet we can never forget things that have past, and we can't stop worrying about what is to come. Maybe that's why many people never truly live. Regret and fear hold us back during the present moment. This is the story of my life. I had everything in the world, and it slipped through my fingers uncontrollably, to be lost forever in a deep abyss. This event had claimed my life, and I thought I could never get a handle of it again. Yet life throws a lot of curveballs that can be dealt with and over come. If it's not good, then it's not the end.  
  
I had always envied those who had forgotten their once clueless and blissful lives. Childhood was an unforgettable, and painful experience. All of those that would have been close to me, my parents, Solo, Father Maxwell, Sister Helen, gone. Disappeared from this bleak drab of a world, and from my pitiful life, more quickly then they had entered it. That was my curse. Every time someone became close to me, death would stretch its cold icy hands and snip their lifeline short with its sharp elongated fingernails. After the incident with the church causing the deaths of many people, I couldn't help but fear contact with humanity again. I longed to be with someone, but the terror always lingered in my aching mind. Figuring there was not much left for me, I became a soldier. No soul was attached to me, and I couldn't bear the thought of others going through the same turmoil. What better way to throw off my fear of death and abandonment, than to become the God of Death, Shinigami himself? So that's what I did. The grim reaper was always a feared creature, but it never seemed to be alone. Death was always knocking at someone's door, and he had never been turned away. I hated death, but I caused it. There was no other choice for me. It was either kill or be killed, so I did what I had to. I had marred my soul forever so that others would never have to.  
  
As time went on, I discovered four other boy soldiers who had somehow been mingled in with my main objective. I found it difficult to believe that others would put themselves through the same fate I chose. Heero never had much of a choice as a boy. Trowa was in a similar situation. Both had no family that they were aware of, no name, and all they knew from childhood was battle. Quatre I found hard understand. He had a large family, money, and his entire life set right before his eyes. His gentle nature gave the impression that fighting was that last thing he would resort to, but it was the same kindness and caring that drove him to the battlefield. Like myself, he thought it better himself to be going into war than someone else. Wu Fei was a difficult person to get to know, but he came around eventually. The reason he became a gundam pilot was to exact the "justice" he was constantly craving. His family, home and wife were taken because of someone else's fight. I couldn't help but feel drawn to all of them. It was very difficult to become their friend, but I decided I would have to give it a try, at least. We were all so different at first glance, but with a little more time and consideration, there was a lot in common between us five.   
  
As pilots, we fought on for what seemed to be an eternity. Battles were lost and won, and missions just kept coming. However, one singular mission vividly stands in my mind, an event that had been marked in my memory forever. A gundam pilot had been captured? It couldn't be. With that same old fear burning within the depths of my soul, I ran for Deathscythe and left for the site immediately. I couldn't bear the thought of my curse returning to my side once again. Without delay, I made for the OZ base where I thought one of my friends to be held captive. All I can remember from when I sprinted across the corridors of the enemy base was a blazing sharp pain that cut right through my entire being. The next thing I knew, I had resided unwillingly into a new prison.   
  
With no more than a couple hours passing by, the rest of my fellow pilots had joined me in the foul darkness of our dungeon. It was here that I met her. Duet, the most beautiful creature that God could have ever created, lay beaten, bruised and bloody on the solid cement flooring. She was always feisty, even when it seemed like her number was up. When she awoke to find the five of us surrounding her, she did everything in her power to protect herself and ward us off, thinking we were OZ soldiers. Once the commotion in our cellar had come to a calm, we explained our situation to her and made our getaway taking her with us.  
  
Time went on, and the two of us had grown closer together. There were many things her and I shared that the others could never understand. She had even been at the Maxwell church. Her long, luxurious chestnut braid was always neat and each strand of soft silk was tucked tightly into a large rope of hair. I could never get enough of her eyes. A deep, entrancing, blue peer would penetrate my skin now and then, sending rapturous chills up my spine. While we were together, nothing could take us apart. My curse had vanished and for the first time in my life I had actually lived, all because of love. Nevertheless, our happy ending would be too easy of a fate for God's liking.   
  
We were still soldiers in an infinite battle. Missions were still demanding our attention, and killing opponents occupied many an hour. What seemed like a routine trip for the common soldier, turned into a chaos, which, to this day, brings forth heartbreaking tears that still burn along side my scarred face. An attack was charged aggressively against us, and being outnumbered and tired, the thought of death was upon my mind. I knew one of us would never make it out of that battle, so I chose to let that person be me. Knowing that I had the friendship and love of those five teenagers was more then I could have ever hoped for in life. I finally felt complete, and it was all thanks to them.   
  
As I bounded towards the opposition awaiting my final blow, something I least expected occurred. That blow never hit me. I never felt the numbing pain I expected. Instead, when I looked, scared and shocked at my monitor, I only saw her. Duet's face was twisted with a pain that hurt me more than death would have. Her lavish hair, for the first time, was tangled in disorder. With blood stained locks flowing around her face, those hypnotic eyes leered right into mine and, with a final effort, a small smile crossed her heavenly face for the last time. Through teary eyes I watched as the screen faded into nothingness along with her soul. It was all I could have done.  
  
The next 15 or so years were all a blur. The war we had hated so much had come to an end, and the gundams were destroyed. Heero, Trowa, Quatre, Wu Fei, and I, all stayed friends after the tireless fighting. Yet all the scars from battle still remained, and would always remind me of the only person I ever loved. The only thing that would go through my head was Duet and that last, fatal smile that took her soul fluttering to heaven, and plunged mine to the epitome of hell. The guys knew I was still very sensitive on the topic, so they would always give me my space. An ordinary day that seemed like a millennia after the horrid incident, turned out to be another one of those unforgettable moments of life. An explainable event took place that changed my life.   
  
While I sat, tear stricken in my room, the same illustrious chill that Duet's blue eyes gave me ran achingly up my back. I turned around, in fear someone had seen the slight shiver, but was relieved to find the room empty and the door closed as it was before. My mind kept trailing back to that chill and it's cause, but as I thought of her, the tears tore more rapidly down my cheeks leaving an unpleasant salty taste on my lips. Re-opening my eyes after a final piercing sob, I looked at the wall hollowly. It was then that I saw an unmistakable figure zigzagging across the wall. The slim physique and the sly movements were none other than Duet's. Curiosity claimed me, and I couldn't take my eyes off of the shadow. I watched as it drew closer to my resting spot. Then, like a ray of sunshine striking a depressed face, I could feel warmth surround my body. My eyes drifted from the wall and shut gently. I couldn't open them, no matter how much I wanted to, it was no longer in my control. The supple feel of two slender arms wrapped around my chest and pulled me in. The next few moments felt like I was resting on air. With my eyes closed, I just imagined her face as it always was when she hugged me. Then, when I finally felt like I was at peace once again, the feeling left me in an instant.   
  
I regained control over my eyelids and slowly opened them. My line of vision magnetically went back to the wall where the shadow had danced. While staring into the emptiness, out of the corner of my eye, attention was brought to my desk. As I turned my head slightly to the left, I noticed my favorite flower lying beside my unplugged laptop. When I stood up to take a look, what I observed was a rose, but it was old, hard, and black, like it had been dead for a hundred years. Carefully lifting it, so not to shatter the dried petals, I removed a note that was sitting below it. As I unfolded the paper, all I saw was one line. "I live to die, and I die to live forever." I tried to resist giving a faint smile, but it was hopeless. An upward twitch graced my gloomy face for the first time in months. The handwriting was Duet's and I knew it well.  
  
From that moment on, I felt a sudden hope spark inside of me. I knew Duet was still out there, and that God hadn't abandoned Shinigami just yet. No longer did I yearn for the same fate as my angel, but I wanted to live.   
As soon as I had dressed properly, I stuffed my pocketknife into my jacket and ran out of the door with light feet and headed for the nearest flower shop. I bought a dozen long stem roses that were enclosed in a glass container. I headed for the cemetery and walked an all too familiar route. Without thinking, my feet lead my to a singular grave.  


_Duet Maxine  
R.I.P  
To the hero and the lover  
Who can never be forgotten_

  
I placed the roses at the foot of the grave, and, kneeling down, I pulled out the knife and carved her last phrase into the stone slab. Pulling myself to my feet, I simply turned and walked away, knowing that she would be living in peace now.  
  
Life went on for me. I never met anyone else, never had a wife or children. I had my best friends though. We were one big family. Our little band of brothers I guess you could say. They all grew up and had kids of course. So I became and uncle and that was good enough for me. The miraculous thing about it all, was that the rose, once dead and black, began to color slowly as time went on. The note is still with the rose in the same glass container that I bought on that epiphany of a day. 

With that said, Duo Maxwell smiled his usual grin, and bowed his head silently as the bleeping of a heart monitor slowed until a steady flat note was heard. Heero, Trowa, Quatre and Wu Fei, stood over their long time friend with watering eyes. Heero was the first to raise his head, followed by Wu Fei, Trowa and then Quatre. Pride was seen in their glassy eyes. The four of them all looked over to the rose, not knowing that part of the story, and were astonished to see it a vibrant red flower in full bloom. Heero's granddaughter went over to the table by Duo's bedside and picked up the glass box. After saying goodbye, the gathered families turned with smiles on their faces and walked out of the room, knowing that Duo would finally be living another life with his angel, Duet.   


~Owari~

  
The meeting of Duet and the pilots is from Tori Yuki Ichimura's fic called Endless Tango: It Takes Two To Tango   
  
Review  
  
Written by one of Shinigami's infamous Angels


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